[Alberta's Child]

I agree with your last point. Two structural issues are critical in the red state/blue state tax/spending discussion that never get mentioned:

1. Small, densely populated states tend to be the biggest “givers” because their inflated living costs push many middle-class taxpayers into higher income tax brackets.

2. If Social Security and Medicare tax revenues and expenditures are included in the calculation, those same states come out way behind because they aren’t attractive places to retire. So a person who works for a full career in New Jersey and then retires to Florida is paying 40 years of FICA and Medicare taxes while living in New Jersey but then collects the benefits while living in Florida.

[unclebankster]

Military bases and spending is another one. It’s a federal issue but because of location becomes a “red state taker” issue.
I’m sure we have proving grounds all over New England.(sarcasm)

Federal lands are another issue. Many red states have large segments of their land under federal control.

Location of financial centers connected to Asian and European trade is another. These hubs produce a lot of income opportunities.